my wife is pregnant....safety tips??

loss1234

hey everybody. those of you who know me, know that the room i do all my electronics work in is also the bedroom i share with my wife. I store many many savaged circuit boards, do soldering, and general electronics work in here.

my question is this: should i stop soldering in this room for the next nine months? we live in a small apartment and if i have to stop in the bedroom, well then i guess i will be doing nothing but breadboards....

anyone have any advice or anyone been through a similiar situation?

will non-lead solder be safe enough...i guess ill have to switch back to that...

thanks

goldenechos · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:29 am Post subject:

Dan, did you ever live in Chicago? I recognize your name, and listening to the songs on your myspace page, I'd swear I recognize your muusical voice.

Tony

loss1234 · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:34 am Post subject:

YEAH I LIVED IN CHICAGO FOR YEARS!! i was in a band named la makita soma and another named Bill Ding...do i know you? whats your name.....

goldenechos · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:35 am Post subject:

Btw, if you switch to lead-free solder you will need to switch all of you components and PCB to lead free as well.

Leaded on lead free is fine.
Lead free on leaded, fails all the time.

You might look into getting yourself a solder fume extractor, and situating your station infront of a window. Build something to create an exit in the window (without having the window open), direct the fumes, using a small duct work, to this exit. Not a much work as it sounds like.

Tony

goldenechos · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:38 am Post subject:

Hell yeah, our bands played together. I was in we Ragazzi.
Makita Soma and we Ragazzi played at the Lounge Ax together. An awesome show... a valentines gig "the Kissing Festival."

Tony

loss1234 · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 6:41 am Post subject:

wow...tony

thats a blast from the past...i dont remember you being into synths at the time (but I do remember you being really into analog recording...

small world....

i am an audio engineer/consultant/prodcuer/mixer/sound designer in NYC now. I still talk to some of the guys occasionally but they are all still in chicago. sadly i havent been in a band proper in 5 or 6 yrs as nyc is so expensive and i am an old married man now Smile

rock life got too hectic and it never paid enough to really survive (but i sure tried for years!) what are you up to nowadays??

hodad · Joined: Jul 31, 2007 Posts: 41 Location: atlanta

As to the solder & pregnant wife: as someone else recently noted around here, solder fumes do not contain lead. Of course, there's other stuff in there that your wife probably shouldn't be breathing, so don't solder around her, or solder only in a well-ventilated area. Or both.
And be extremely diligent about cleaning up after yourself. Wash your hands thoroughly when you're done working.
Be sensible, very cautious, & just a little bit paranoid.

That's my advice anyway.

mandrigora · Joined: Jun 04, 2007 Posts: 51 Location: maryland

Congrats by the way... My 3rd child (a boy) was born Friday, and is fit as a fiddle. Living in NYC, I'd be more concerned about the outside air than the inside! Surprised

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:46 am Post subject:

xpmtl · Joined: Aug 10, 2007 Posts: 162 Location: Brussels, Belgium

I live in Belgium, but know Drag City catalog quite a bit.

What was the name of the LP? Must have it in the shelf Smile

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 9:26 am Post subject:

Distant Station.

It says its a collaboration- but that is wrong. It's just me and four samples of Dave's guitar drones.

Cat. No. DC117

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StephenGiles · Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 507 Location: England

I can't see that solder fumes are any worse than car/bus fumes in the street!

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:43 pm Post subject:

loss1234 · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:49 pm Post subject:

v-un-v

well most solder in america (at least at radio shack) IS still lead solder.

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:29 pm Post subject:

Well then you're gonna die then aren't you? Rolling Eyes

I'm sure you're be alright. My sister smoked all the way through her pregnancy. Both me and my wife live right next to a very busy road- both our kids are super-bright. I think a lot of superstitious bollocks about health is prevalent these days also. Go solder away mate- the only bad thing that'll probably happen is that your kids will love you for it Very Happy

EdisonRex · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 2:45 pm Post subject:

yeah, I think the motherhood nazis are at work, making motherhood more miserable than it already is.

Solder is not going to contaminate your unborn child, if you keep the lead out of things that could be ingested. You are in much worse trouble when the kid is born, and at the most risk from 6mos to 3 years. Then, you might as well put the iron away, because that's the main risk (burns).

goldenechos · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 3:03 pm Post subject:

I still think it is easy enough to set-up an exhaust system at your solder station. Pull a fan out of an old computer (pleny of those on the curbs of Manhattan).

No reason to breath solder fumes so directly. Everybody should have a fan and a wiondow at least.

Tony

computer at sea · Joined: Aug 16, 2007 Posts: 9 Location: east coast US

frijitz · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 5:32 pm Post subject:

mandrigora · Joined: Jun 04, 2007 Posts: 51 Location: maryland

I still love the title of this thread:

"My wife is pregnant....safety tips??"

Too late now!! Razz

Welcome to fatherhood Crying or Very sad

-someone who has not figured out safety tips and has brooded thrice

Danno Gee Ray · Joined: Sep 25, 2005 Posts: 1351 Location: Telford, PA USA

From experience with the "pregnant wife", "safety tips"...

If she seems annoyed with you soldering in her kitchen when she gets in a mood, for your own safety...put it away.

The importance of your hobby is inversely proportional to her needs for what at the time may seem an odd, but absolutely required food combination.

Oh, and whatever you do, DO NOT call one of your new projects your "baby". It will find bathwater to go out with.

Have fun with this new aspect of your life, It is a time full of wonder.

mandrigora · Joined: Jun 04, 2007 Posts: 51 Location: maryland

It's an equal balance of stealing your 5 year old's toys to disassemble and bend Embarassed

and keeping them at bay when they want to help solder. Evil or Very Mad

Honestly, it's easier when they're poking around inside mommy...And best when you can post pics of your greatest creation (the child) presenting the most tedious creation (the modular). Cool

loss1234 · Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject:

thanks everybody for the thoughts

ive already got a 4yr old step son and hes been lots of fun and does lots of circuit bending with me...and yes we do take apart his toys

anyway,,,tony, you mentioned making an exhaust system out of an old computer...how do you go about doing this???

its odd...in america, lead free solder is So much MORE EXPENSIVE

(like 5 bucks for a tiny little tube of wire as opposed to three bucks for a giant reel of solder)

AMERICANS- where do you get your lead free cheaply (if you use lead free??)

mandrigora · Joined: Jun 04, 2007 Posts: 51 Location: maryland

Honestly, I've never bought solder outside of the RatShack and have never bothered to see if it's lead-free or not. For some reason I was always more concerned if it was rosin-core or not... though I can't remember why...Must be the lead fumes rotting my medulla oblongata. Maybe I'll go ask one of my mutant kids...

theMinister · Joined: Jun 09, 2007 Posts: 14 Location: North America

getlofi.com did this fume extractor a while back.